I have to agree with Belles recollection for the most part. While I feel ED was a good thing, the way Jack handled it was abysmal. The video, the statements, and the dishonest way it was handled, that Belle mentioned, dramatically increased the damage. On at least one occasion Jack/Statesman posted misinformation, in an ED thread to try to downplay the effect, then when called on it he deleted the post.
Once he lost credability with a portion of the player base any attempts by Cryptic or the supporters of the change to legitimately explain or justify all the changes from that time period were met with disbelief and disappointment.
On the whole it would have been far less damaging if they had simply been upfront and honest with the player base or at the very least declined to comment.